Port Chester Native Gives Back Through 'Ivy Insiders'

Most college students come home for the summer to a life-guarding or caddying job. Some work at coffee shops or restaurants, or even work retail. Others will help out in the family business.

Port Chester's Meghan Brown has done a few of those jobs. This summer, though, she's trying her hand at something new, something a little more challenging. Brown is currently in charge of her own branch of Ivy Insiders, a company that hires undergraduates at Ivy League schools and other top institutions in the U.S., and gives them the means to open their own SAT-prep businesses in their hometowns.

Brown, an applied economics and management major at Cornell University, was first introduced to Ivy Insiders early this year through her school's career services department. With a number of different options on her plate for summer employment, what caught Brown's eye about Ivy Insiders was the real world marketing and teaching experience it provided, as well as the allure of running her very own business.

"Ivy Insiders made a lot of sense for me because it combined my two biggest interests: business and teaching," the Cornell junior said. "It also allows me to work with others while being my own boss. As far as entrepreneurship I can't think of another job that could offer me what I'm getting to experience through Ivy Insiders."

Founded in 2003 by Harvard graduates, Ivy Insiders is doing its best to revolutionize the SAT-prep class industry, sticking to one belief: that the best way to beat standardized tests such as the SAT is to learn from the very same students who not only performed overwhelming well on it, but those who did so only a few years ago.

To provide this service, Ivy Insiders conducts a thorough interview process and selects only the top candidates. On average, branch managers have scored in the 99^th percentile on the SAT, and boast an average score of 2290 on the test. After being hired by Ivy Insiders, students like Brown are taught everything from sales forecasting to profit and loss accounting, as well as customer relationship management and business metric tracking. On top of this, branch managers are schooled in everything SAT, from the best ways of beating the test to the most effective teaching strategies.

"Due to the entrepreneurial aspects of the job, we look for applicants with an interest in gaining business experience, but this is secondary to their teaching qualities," said Kaitlyn Sommers, Ivy Insiders' regional manager for lower-Westchester. "This year there are about four-hundred and fifty branch managers across the U.S. The best branch managers are truly committed to their students, and that is reflected in their exceptional customer service, their desire to fill their classes to provide an interactive and dynamic classroom environment, and a commitment to helping each student achieve his or her potential on the test."

So far this summer, Brown has signed up five students for her classroom course and one for private tutoring. She has also caught the attention of Sommers, her supervisor and regional manager.

"Meghan is one of the region's top branch managers so far this summer," Sommers said. "She has been working very hard and enthusiastically to spread the word about Ivy Insiders in Port Chester for the first time. She has made great progress in only a few weeks and truly exemplifies what we look for in branch managers."

The idea of opening the first ever branch of Ivy Insiders in her hometown of Port Chester was a key factor in Brown's initial interest in the position. Brown, who attended the Ursuline School, remembers being frustrated during her junior and senior years of high school with the lack of adequate SAT-prep classes in her area. Now, Brown has the chance to bring an up-and-coming -- and innovative -- program to her community, and offer a service she felt was lacking during her high school years in Port Chester.

"One of the best parts of this whole experience is getting to work with students from areas around the town I grew up in," Brown said. "These students are in the exact same position that I was a few years ago. This program is so successful because it has a very effective curriculum, but most importantly it has really engaging teachers the students can relate to. It's been a lot more challenging than I anticipated so far, but just the thought of helping someone get into the college of their choice is definitely worth the effort. "

So far, Ivy Insiders has lived up to the hype, and is quickly becoming a household name in the SAT-prep industry. On average, students that take an Ivy Insiders course improve their SAT scores by over 260 points. If an Ivy Insider student does not hit their goal score after taking a course, he or she can repeat that same course free of charge until they are satisfied. It is results and policies like these that have gained the attention of students, parents, and high school guidance counselors alike.

"I think it's a wonderful option," said Angela Davis, head guidance counselor at Port Chester High School. "The SATs are still very important in the college process. The wonderful thing is, these are the students who have gone through it recently and have been very successful on the exam."